Method of lasting shoes



April 1930- B. JORGENSEN 1,754,272

METHOD OF LASTING SHOES Filed May 29, 1929 Patented Apr. 15, 1930 -BERNHARDT .TORGENSEN, F BEVERLY,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF IPATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or new JERSEY METHOD OF LASTING SHOES Application filed May 29,

I This invention relates to methods of last ing shoes, and in some of its aspects more particularly to the lasting of the toe ends of shoes of a type in which the uppers are made of felt although it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the manufacture of shoes made of that particular material or to shoes of the particular type illustrated.

In the manufacture of felt shoes of a wellknown type it is the practice to provide an upper of such extent as to overlap the bottom of the last in place of an insole, and before the upper is mounted on the last to stitch its opposite side edges together. The upper is then dampened and a last is inserted, the upper being thereby stretched and conformed to the contour of the last. At the toe end of the upper, however, it is the usual practice to omit the stitching and thus to leave an opening with the margin of the upper free until after the last has been inserted, and thereafter to shape the toe portion of the upper over the last by a toe-lasting operation. In this operation, which is convenientlyperformed by the aid oftoe-embracing wipers of a lasting machine, the surplus margin of the toe end portion of the upper is gathered in upstanding folds bunched together in a substantially central location over the bottom of the toe end of the last. To hold the toe portion of the upper in lasted position until it has dried and set in lasted shape, it has been the practice to drive a plu- 'ra1ity of tacks adjacent to the bunch of folds. After 'the upper has dried the tacks are removed and the surplus margin of the upper at the toe is trimmed off preparatory to the stitching of a sole on the bottom of 4 the shoe.

In view of the nature of the felt material, especially its resilient character, it is difficult by the use of spacedtacks as above described to hold the gathered folds at the margin of the toe end of the upperin such manner as to insure that the upper will lie substantially flat over the margin of the last bottom around the toe until ithas dried. The repeated use,

moreover, of lasting tacks, driven necessarily within a comparatively small portion of the 1929. Seria1 No. 367,018.

area of the last bottom, tends rapidly to disintegrate the wood of the last. In View of these and other considerations, the present invention provides a method of lasting whereby the upper is fastened more satisfactorily in lasted condition than heretofore and without danger of damage to the last. In accordance with the procedure herein illustrated the surplus margin of the toe end portion of the upper is gathered as heretofore in upstanding folds in a substantially central location over the bottom of the toe end of the last, and there is then applied entirely around the gathered margin of the upper in contact therewith on all sides holding means which serves to maintain the toe portion of the upper in lasted position until it has set. While different means may be used for thus holding the upper, there is herein illustrated the use of binder wire which is applied around the gathered margin and has its ends twisted together at the rear of the gathered material to hold it in place, so that it acts to tie the folds of the upper together and to maintain them in that relation. This serves to insure that none of the folds of the resilient felt material will extend itself outwardly toward the edge of the last bottom, so that the upper along the margin of the last bottom is maintained in a substantially fiat condition. After the upper has set in lasted shape, the binder wire is removed and the surplus margin of the upper is then trimmed off as heretofore.

The novel method will now be more particularly described by reference to the accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed outin the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating how the toe portion of a felt shoe of the above-mentioned type is lasted in accordance with the method of this invention; and

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing more clearly the condition of the lasted toe.

In the manufacture of a felt shoe of the illustrated type the felt upper 4 is out large enough so that its opposite side portions, secured together by a row of stitches 6, will extend across the bottom of the last 8 in place sorting the last to shape this portion of the upper to the contour of the toe end of the,

last by a toe-lasting operation. In this operation it is customary to use the toe-embracing wipers 10 of a toe lasting machine to wipe the upper inwardly over the margin of the last bottom at the end and the sides of l the toe and to gather the surplus margin of the upper in a bunch of more or less upstandi-ng folds 12 located centrally of the toe end portion of the last bottom. The lastin machine used for this purpose may be of any well-known type and therefore need not be described in detail. Durin the wiping operation the. operator may pu l the upper more or less by the use of hand pincers in engagement with its margin.

After the toe portion of the upper has been worked into lasted position as above described, it is necessary to hold it in lasted position until it has set in lasted shape. For

this purpose, in accordance with the illus trated practice of the method of this invention, a binder wire 14 is applied entirely around and in contact with the bunch of folds 12 on all sides thereof, and its ends are twisted together at the rear of the folds to maintain it in operative position. It will be understood that in practice the operator will draw a strand of Wire inwardly under the wiping faces of the wipers while the wipers are holding the upper in lasted position, and will pull the wire as tightly as desired around the gathered material, severing from the continuous strand of wire the amount necessary for the binder and crossing the ends of the latter and twisting them together at the rear of the gathered material, for example by use of plncers. If the wire used is heavy enough, the end portions may be simply crossed without being twisted to ether. The wipers, are then withdrawn an i the shoe is laid aside until the upper has dried and has thereby set in lasted sha e, after which the binder is removed and t e surplus margin of the upper at the toe is trimmed 01f preparatory to the stitching of a sole on the bottom of the shoe in the manner customary heretofore.

It will be evident that by the procedure above described, whereby the toe end of the upper is fastened inlasted position by engaging its marginall around the bunch of folds, insurance is afforded that theentire toe portion of the upper will be held tightly in lasted condition and that the upper along the margin of the toe end of the last bottom will be maintained in a substantially flat condition until it has set, without danger that any of the folds may extend itself outwardly toward the edge of the last bottom by reason of the resiliency of the felt material. It will be further-evident that a good line of demarcation is provided between that portion of the upper which is fiat upon the last bottom and tlgle surplus margin which is to be trimmed o Having explained the nature of the inven-.- tion and set forth fully howthe novel method may be practiced, what I. claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. That improvement in methods of lasting the toes of felt shoes which consists in gathering the margin of the toe end portion of a felt shoe upper in folds in a substantially central location over the bottom face of the toe end portion of a last, and applying holding means entirely around the gathered mar.- gin of the upper in contact therewith on all sides to maintain the toe portion of the upper in lasted position.

2. That improvement in methods of lasting the toes of felt shoes which consists in gathering the margin of the toe end portion of a felt shoe upper in folds in a substantially central location over the bottom face of the toe end portion of a last, and applying a binder around the gathered margin of the upper in contact therewith on all sides and connecting its ends together to maintain the toe'portion of the upper substantially flat over the margin of the last bottom.

3. That improvement in methods of lasting the toes of felt shoes which consists in gathering the margin of the toe end portion of a felt shoe upper in folds in a substantially central location over the bottom face of the toe end portion of a last, and applying a binder wire around the gathered margin of the upper in contact therewith on allsides and twisting its ends together to maintain the toe'portion of the upper in lasted position.

4. That improvement in methods of lasting the toes of felt shoes which consists in gathering'the margin of the toe end por= tion of a felt shoe upper in folds in a substantially central location over thebottom face of thetoe end portion of a last, and tying the gathered folds of the margin of the upper together to maintain the toe portion of the upper in lasted position.

5. That improvement in methods of last ing'the toes of felt shoes which consists in wiping the toe portion of a felt shoe upper over the bottom of alast about. the toe and gathering the surplus margin of the upper in folds in a substantially central location over the bottom face of the toe end of the last by the use. of toe-embracing wipers, and while holding the gathered margin of the upper in lasted position by the wipers fasten ing it by drawing a binder wire around it under the wipers and against it on all sides and twisting the ends of the wire together at the rear of the gathered material.

6. That improvement in methods of lasting the toes of shoes which consists in gathering the surplus margin of the toe end portion of an upper in a bunch of folds in upstanding relation to the bottom of a last, and applying a binder in contact with the bunch of folds on all sides thereof to maintain the toe portion of the upper in lasted position.

7. That improvement in methods of lasting the toes of shoes which consists in gathering the surplus marginof the toe end portion of an upper in a bunch of folds in upstanding relation to the bottom of a last, and applying a binder wire entirely around and in contact with the bunch of folds on all sides thereof and crossing its ends to maintain the toe portion of the upper in lasted position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

BERNHARDT J ORGENSEN. 

